System and Method for Managing a Wireless Communications Network

Abstract

In an embodiment, a method of operating a base station configured to support a plurality of user devices on a plurality of channels is disclosed. The method includes finding an interference level for each channel, comparing the interference level for each channel with an interference threshold, and determining up to a first number of channels whose interference metric exceeds the interference threshold to determine a set of unsuitable channels. The method also includes determining a set of usable channels, where the usable channels include the plurality of channels that are not determined to be unsuitable channels. The usable channels are allocated to the plurality of user devices.

1 . A method of operating a base station configured to support a plurality of user devices on a plurality of channels, the method comprising:
 finding an interference metric for each channel;   comparing the interference metric for each channel with an interference threshold;   determining up to a first number of channels whose interference metric exceeds the interference threshold to determine a set of unsuitable channels;   determining a set of usable channels, the usable channels comprising the plurality of channels that are not determined to be unsuitable channels; and   allocating the usable channels to the plurality of user devices.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of channels comprise subbands. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting to the user devices using an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein finding the interference metric for each channel comprises finding an average interference level for each channel. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein finding the average interference level for each channel comprises polling user devices for interference levels. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein finding the average interference level for each channel comprises polling user devices for a channel quality information (CQI). 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of unsuitable channels comprises up to the first number of channels with the highest interference metric. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein allocating the usable channels to the plurality of user devices comprising:
 determining a channel order from lowest interference levels to highest interference levels based on finding the interference metric for each channel; and   allocating channels to user devices according to the channel order, wherein cell edge user devices are allocated channels with the lowest interference levels.   
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining up to a first number of channels provides a lower limit on the minimum number of usable subbands. 
   
   
       10 . A method of operating a wireless network configured to operate on a plurality of subbands:
 finding an average interference metric for each subband;   comparing the average interference metric for each subband with an interference threshold;   determining up to a first number of subbands whose interference metric exceeds the interference threshold to determine a set of unsuitable subbands;   determining a set of usable subbands, the usable subbands comprising the plurality of subbands that are not determined to be unsuitable subbands; and   allocating the usable subbands to user devices.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein finding the average interference metric for each subband comprises:
 polling the user devices for interference levels to determine reported interference levels; and   averaging reported interference levels among user devices.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein finding the average interference metric for each subband comprises:
 polling the user devices for channel quality information (CQI) to determine reported interference metrics;   deriving equivalent interference levels for each user device based on the polled CQI; and   averaging the equivalent interference levels among user devices.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the set of unsuitable subbands comprises up to the first number of subbands with the highest interference metrics. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein allocating the usable subbands to the user devices comprises:
 determining a channel order from lowest interference levels to highest interference levels based on finding the interference metric for each channel; and   allocating subbands to user devices according to the channel order, wherein cell edge user devices are allocated channels with the lowest interference metrics.   
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein allocating the usable subbands is performed by a base station of the wireless network. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the network operates according to a long-term evolution (LTE) standard. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein further comprising a base station transmitting to the user devices using an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) downlink, wherein the plurality of subbands comprise subbands of an OFDMA channel. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of subbands comprise subbands of an uplink channel. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the wireless network comprises a plurality of base stations. 
   
   
       20 . A wireless base station comprising:
 a transmitter configured to transmit to user devices; and   a receiver configured to receive transmissions from user devices, wherein the base station is configured to:
 operate on a plurality of channels, 
 find an average interference metric for each channel, 
 compare the average interference metric for each channel with an interference threshold, 
 determine up to a first number of channels whose interference metric exceeds the interference threshold to determine a set of unsuitable channels, and 
 determine a set of usable channels, wherein the usable channels comprise the plurality of channels that are not determined to be unsuitable channels; and 
   allocate the usable channels to user devices.   
   
   
       21 . The wireless base station of  claim 20 , wherein the wireless base station is further configured to poll the user devices for interference levels measured by the user devices to determine the average interference metric for each channel. 
   
   
       22 . The wireless base station of  claim 20 , wherein the wireless base station is further configured to poll the user devices for channel quality information (CQI) derived by the user devices to determine the average interference metric for each channel. 
   
   
       23 . The wireless base station of  claim 20 , wherein the set of unsuitable channels comprises the first number of channels with the highest interference metrics. 
   
   
       24 . The wireless base station of  claim 20 , wherein the base station is further configured to:
 determine a channel order from lowest interference metrics to highest interference metrics based on finding the interference metric for each channel; and   allocate the channels to the user devices according to the channel order, wherein cell edge user devices are allocated channels with the lowest interference metrics.